So I’ve been quiet for a while, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been active. Far from it, but one of the things that being busy does it mean I don’t get to blog as much.

The first even we went to this year was Telford MCM in February, we went off all packed up as usual. I took my Dante out, I admit it’s one of my favourites and I get to pay homage to a gaming franchise I have played since the very first day.

It was a nice day out; I saw some friends and I got to see some that had even been placed in the cosplay masquerade and to see new costumes that had been brought out. One of my favourite things to do is to talk to people, we get to socialise and speak about things we are passionate and despite being quite the internet worm, and being happy snuggled up on the sofa with the cat, it gets me out of that trap.

I probably come across as very confident, but I am not, I talk too much because I am nervous, because I don’t want to be seen as boring… I know it’s silly, I even know that most of the paranoia about that is on my shoulders but I also know that the longer I have been doing this the better I seem to get at handling it.

I got a very lucky break and got to go to Capcom HQ here in the UK, for a second time. This time we got invited over the DMC HD release, and were invited to go in costume to see everyone and get to play some games. I bowed out of the gaming aspect as sadly all the driving can put a strain on my heavily operated wrist. I think we can all agree it’s better to be fully operational behind the wheel!

It was actually not a bad travel either, other than one set of road works, which any one travelling via road in England may well think is like winning the lottery! The roads here are notoriously bad for road works, the more you travel the more your optimism about getting there on time flies out of the window. I have been caught in a 5 hour tail back on the way from Heathrow, a 3 hour jam at Birmingham and so many more… when I get a clear run I feel like I need that fanfare you get with Ryan Air that lands a plane on time.

So Saturday was very good, it was a fun day out, we saw friends and made some new ones. Which meant I came home tired and ready for sleep because the plan was to go to Em Con the next day. So the following morning I got up and dragged out my lancer, found the blond wig and headed off to meet friends at the Capital FM Arena.

Now those of you that follow my blog, or went last year, will remember that there was an issue with the capacity and so many people were left in long queues which did not guarantee you got in. That wasn’t so much an issue this time at all, the capacity of the Arena was far greater and the layout meant that you could get around better than the last place.

The queues seemed to be fairly free-flowing; the only thing that felt odd was that you had to produce your paper ticket to move in and out of the arena. It seems that they controlled it with scanners and that was how it worked, it wasn’t an issue for me but I can imagine if you are on limited pocket space or in something complex you’re going to get annoyed by it; however that’s the system employed.

I found out about Feel the Force too, this amazing charity work that basically arranges conventions for people with disabilities, such as the deaf and blind to be able to get involved. For instance it was explained to me that those of us who cosplay can come along and get involved, we can wear our costumes and the deaf/blind or otherwise impaired are able to touch and feel the costumes. This sounds amazing! Imagine being a storm trooper who can help a blind person to understand what you are wearing, or simply put anything that allows someone access to what you do where it might not always be possible. This is something I am happy to do at any convention but this seems to bring the idea to the forefront.

So I am now quite tired, all walked and driven out and need to sort out for the weekend ahead, Birmingham MCM is the next on the list.

Back on the run of Cosplay stuff. Rin’s still got a few additions to go but that’s not stopped me looking around at other things.

Today’s is the amulet that Dante wears from DMC. Had lots of help, and advice. I am sure there are better ways to make it but for a first effort I am quite happy indeed.

I wanted to find a way to make it on a budget, I think that whilst we can all spend a lot of money on these things and enjoy trawling sites to get the best costumes if you are trying to do things without spending a fortune there are ways.

Firstly I do have Dante’s jacket and unlike the £117 pounds most sites advertise for his costume I got the jacket for £30 by being patient on Ebay. Fortunately the sellers measurements matched mine and so I got a good deal. I am particularly chuffed with this of course but on to the amulet.

Firstly, air dry clay for the sculpting, this cost £3.99 and there was enough to make a fair few of them anyway.

The chain was £2 from hobbycraft on a clearance sale. I am sure there would be better ones to use but like I say, attempting to do these things on a budget in case others are looking for help that way.

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The paint was silver model paint, £1.60 and then the red paint was Asda’s George Nailvarnish (on sale for £1) and the clear varnish was the same.

So the total cost was: £9.59. The ones I found on Ebay were around £30 or more.

Firstly the amulet was made, the basic shape then chain was fed through before the final shaping was done. After that the amulet base was left to try, it was easier to do this than to oven bake. Once the amulet was dried the base coat of silver was applied, I believe the only difference for Vergil would be to use gold paint. This was then built up over a few more coats to ensure that the clay underneath wasn’t visible.

Once the metal look was sorted out the red nail varnish was used to pain the red part in the centre. It took a few coats to get it to shine (picture may not really show that too well) but after they were dried off the clear nail varnish was put on. Again this was used to give the whole amulet a shine, the entire thing was painted with the clear nail varnish.

Once it was dry it was fine to put on and play with. It wouldn’t suggest dunking it in hot water or anything but for cosplay purposes it seems pretty tough and durable to wear. Obviously I doubt throwing it around would do it’s health too many favours but that’s how it was made and I think it passes for the job it’s intended to do.